Child uses radio cash prize to help flood victims

A mother and her 12-year-old daughter used their $50 radio cash prize to buy food for flood victims in Lumberton. (Source:WECT)

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) -

Alicia Perez said she’d never won anything until she got the call from radio station Z 107.5 — she’d won $50 in a daily cash call.

“I was so excited, I said ‘It’s about time,'” Perez exclaimed. “I had it in my purse and just kind of held on to it because I didn’t know what to do with it yet.”

The mother of two said it didn’t take her long to figure out. Her 12-year-old daughter, Natalia, decided to spend it all at once — not on nail polish or new clothes like a typical pre-teen, but on food for victims of the flood.

She said she got the idea after watching the news.

“I’ve never really had that much money before,” Natalia said. “I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff, houses that are gone, people that are struggling, their faces are very, very sad.”

The pair went to a grocery store and bought as much food as $50 can buy. A family friend packed it up and drove it to Lumberton.

“She was so excited,” Alicia said through a smile. “She said, 'well, let’s go get some spaghetti-o’s and things that kids like.'”

Foz, host of Z 107.5’s Foz in the Morning, said this was the first time he’s heard a cash call recipient use the money for a good deed.

“People win and they thank us for, ‘we went to the movies, we went to dinner,’ it never seems to have a purpose,” Foz said. “This time, it wasn’t about them. It wasn’t about getting whatever need they had at that moment. It was about helping other people.”

Foz added that he feels secure about the future of the world if all children think like Natalia.